14 DAY TRIAL // Chip maker Qualcomm has just announced a new Near Field Communication (NFC) chip that makes perfect sense for the next-generation iPhone 6, or even the rumored iPhone 5S.
In September, shortly after the iPhone 5 launch event, Apple’s Marketing Chief Phil Schiller put the kibosh on rumors regarding NFC inclusion in upcoming iPhone models.
Apple’s sales guy touted existing features set in place by Apple as reasonable alternatives.
“It’s not clear that NFC is the solution to any current problem. Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today,” Schiller said after the iPhone 5 unveiling.
However, Apple is known to backtrack on its plans, or even to distort reality simply to shift attention away from its actual plans. The iPad mini is a good example of that.
And now the company has the perfect excuse to do it yet again.
This week, Qualcomm Inc. introduced a new ultra-low power Near Field Communication solution “that will enable mobile devices with contactless communications and data exchange, including next-generation mobile payments,” the chip maker said.
Qualcomm confirmed that its QCA1990 SoC (system on a chip) is the industry’s smallest, ultra-low power NFC package “with an overall footprint that is 50 percent smaller than current NFC chips available in the market,” said the press release.
“When paired with Qualcomm Atheros’ WCN3680 1-stream, dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0/FM chip, the QCA1990 will enable seamless user experiences in the mobile, computing and consumer electronics markets,” Qualcomm added.
Apple is widely believed to release an incremental iPhone 5S this summer, staying in line with tradition (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S).
Leaks are already beginning to paint an accurate picture of what the phone will look like and, not surprisingly, it seems to be virtually identical to the iPhone 5 from a visual standpoint.
We’re yet to see any internal hardware leaks but you can be sure there will be no shortage of such reports in the weeks leading up to the phone’s debut.
If the rumors are true, Apple’s iPhone 6 may actually arrive just a few months later, in fall of 2013.